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May pledges to represent everyone in UK as Brexit is formally triggered

Theresa May
Theresa May

Theresa May will today promise to represent “every person in the whole UK” when she sits around the Brexit negotiating table in the months ahead.

As Article 50 is triggered, starting the clock ticking on the two-year withdrawal period, the prime minister will urge the country to come together.

She will also say people must no longer be defined by how they voted last June, but by a determination to make a success of the result.

This morning, Mrs May will chair Cabinet as the official letter notifying the EU of the UK’s intention to leave the bloc is dispatched to Brussels.

Signed personally by the Tory leader, it will be delivered to European Council President, Donald Tusk, by British ambassador to the EU, Sir Tim Barrow.

This is due to take place at around 12.30pm UK time.

As it is handed over, at the end of Prime Minister’s Questions, Mrs May will make a statement in the Commons.

A white paper on the Great Repeal Bill – the legislation that will turn more than 40 years of EU regulations into domestic laws – is expected to follow tomorrow.

Then, on April 29, an extraordinary European Council summit of the remaining 27 states will be held to agree a mandate for chief negotiator Michel Barnier.

He has set October 2018 as the target date for concluding withdrawal negotiations so they can be ratified before the end of the two-year deadline.

Mrs May will tell MPs: “When I sit around the negotiating table in the months ahead, I will represent every person in the whole United Kingdom – young and old, rich and poor, city, town, country and all the villages and hamlets in between.

“And yes, those EU nationals who have made this country their home. It is my fierce determination to get the right deal for every single person in this country.

“For, as we face the opportunities ahead of us on this momentous journey, our shared values, interests and ambitions can – and must – bring us together.

“We all want a nation that is safe and secure for our children and grandchildren. We all want to live in a truly global Britain that gets out and builds relationships with old friends and new allies around the world.”

She added: “We are one great union of people and nations with a proud history and a bright future.”

Last night, the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, described the Brexit negotiations as the “most important in modern times”.

He said his party was determined to ensure Britain is transformed and “no community is left behind”.

He insisted it would be a “national failure of historic proportions” if the prime minister came back without having secured protection for jobs and living standards.

He also pledged to hold the government to account “every step of the way”.

Liberal Democrat Leader Tim Farron accused Mrs May of taking “the plunge” without a proper plan in place and insisted it was still possible for the British people to decide to remain in the EU.

Meanwhile, Gordon MP, Alex Salmond, said it was worrying Mrs May could not get key cabinet ministers to read off the same policy paper.

The former first minister also branded the Article 50 letter the UK’s “self-sabotage note”.